"Mr. Su, how do you think we should eradicate this disaster?”
"If we can't stop it from the root, even if we kill a group of aristocratic families, new powerful people will soon appear, just like the endless weeds that Mr. Su once mentioned!”
After his anger subsided, the First Emperor turned to Su Han with a worried look on his face.
Even though the First Emperor had always hoped that the Great Qin Empire would last for a long time, after interacting with Su Han for a long time, the First Emperor understood that this was probably just a beautiful dream.
However, this did not make the First Emperor feel discouraged. He was still very energetic, and if he did more, he could leave a better foundation for his descendants, and Great Qin's Fate would last longer.
After much consideration, the First Emperor still felt that it was the aristocratic families and clans that could truly harm the foundation of the dynasty.
"Actually, we've been discussing this problem for a long time. Why don't we think about it from another angle?”
"We have always said that the aristocratic families have great influence. Then where does their power come from?”
Su Han said in a deep voice.
"Is it what Mister Su said just now, deceiving his superiors and deceiving his subordinates, colluding with officials, and stealing imperial power?”
The First Emperor pondered for a long time and asked.
"Then where did the imperial power come from? Why could it be stolen?”
Su Han asked.
"Only by following the will of the heavens and the hearts of the people can one become an emperor!”
This time, the First Emperor thought for a long time. He combined his decades of experience as an emperor with what Su Han had said before he spoke loudly.
"Then how do you confirm the will of the heavens and the hearts of the people?”
Su Han continued to ask.
"In the last years of the Zhou Dynasty, the vassals fought endlessly, and there was almost no land of peace in the world. I accepted the orders of the heavens and pitied the sufferings of the people. I brought the six countries into Great Qin, and from then on, the Central Plains will no longer be plagued by war!”
The First Emperor's voice was like a great bell.
" Then there's a new problem. Since Your Majesty saved the people of the six states from the flames of war, why aren't they grateful? Instead, they mistook Your Majesty for a tyrant?”
Su Han said in a deep voice.
By the side, Wang Jian and Meng Yi were already drenched in sweat, but their expressions were extremely focused.
"Aren't we still being deceived and misled by the aristocratic families and clans?”
The First Emperor's expression became more and more puzzled.
" Because it fully shows the uncertain nature of the people's hearts, which can be easily misled!”
" In fact, even in the later generations, many people, even if they were not particularly uneducated, were indifferent to the affairs of the country and only cared about the things in front of them!”
"A little provocation or a promise of some benefits that they might not be able to get will make these people take the risk!”
"This group of people mostly rely on their instincts to act, and the number of them is not low!”
Su Han said.
"Instinct?"
The First Emperor's expression changed slightly.
"That's right!
Although we want more people to understand etiquette and abide by the law, we have to publicize that people are born good.
But in fact, humans were like this blank piece of paper from the beginning, ignorant of anything, or more inclined to instinctive selfishness!”
"The evolution of society is actually the same!”
"In ancient times, humans were still relatively weak. A person or a family could not obtain food and avoid danger. Therefore, they were forced to gather and cooperate, which was why races and tribes were born!”
"At that time, there were no leaders or subordinates. They all hunted or picked wild fruits together, and they were divided equally according to the number of people!”
"However, this model is fine in small groups. Once the number increases, it is inevitable that there will be differences in strength, diligence, and laziness. The equal distribution system will cause conflicts!”
"In order to better maintain the survival of the race, the strongest and most capable person is needed to stand up and distribute according to the contribution. This is the leader from the beginning.
Because of this, the earliest inheritance of the leader had nothing to do with blood relations, which was to say that whoever had the ability would go up.
But later on, with the increase in productivity, to put it bluntly, their strength had surpassed the wild beasts they were afraid of before. They could farm in peace and it was easy to eat. The leaders had more time to think and had greater ambitions.
In order to obtain better territory and more people for their tribes, the war between the tribes became more and more intense, and everyone was deeply troubled by it.
It was not until Emperor Huang Xuanyuan, who was much more talented than the other tribal leaders, appeared and defeated all those who were unconvinced and became the first ruler that the world finally settled down.
However, at this time, a new problem arose. The leader position of the Yellow Emperor was obtained through fighting. The other tribes were not afraid of the title of common lord, but the Yellow Emperor himself.
Although the Yellow Emperor also wanted his son to inherit it, it was very likely that it would cause another war.
In order not to fall into war again after his death, after countless discussions and disputes, the Yellow Emperor finally implemented the abdication model, which was to let the most convincing person go up.
However, there were two drawbacks to the abdication system:
Firstly, the person who was elected could not satisfy everyone.
Secondly, in order to secure his position, the new ruler would often suppress the descendants of the previous ruler and overthrow the previous ruler's decrees. This would easily cause chaos.
Therefore, after Xia Yu's son, Qi, successfully defeated the abdication leader, Bo Yi, it was easier to identify the successor and was more conducive to the hereditary system of consistent government orders. From then on, the abdication system was replaced.
Therefore, the way to obtain power was not just to start one's own business. Most of the time, one needed to find a good family!
I wonder if Your Majesty agrees with this idea?”
Su Han said with a faint smile.
"So this is how the source of power evolves. I've learned a lesson!”
The First Emperor said seriously.
Although he had seen this process in ancient books, he had never thought about the specific reason. Now, he finally understood.
"Mister Su, do you mean that these aristocratic families and clans are actually hereditary dukes in a small area? My imperial power is actually not stolen by them, but is being forcefully taken away from their original authority?”
"Therefore, the imperial power and the aristocratic families will always be enemies!”
After pondering for a while, the First Emperor suddenly asked.
"Something like that!"
"The essence of the struggle between the prefecture and county system and the enfeoffment system is the struggle between the emperor and the local government for control over the people!”
"The aristocratic families and clans, as well as the Confucian Sect that they have pushed out, are all people who have a clear interest in the Zhou enfeoffment system. Their instinctive desire is to stabilize their positions and fight for more!”
"In layman's terms, they want to be local emperors!”
"The instinct of the people is to survive and carry on the family line. The reason why they are controlled by the aristocratic families and clans is also because of the fear accumulated over the years!”
"Actually, the commoners don't want to be bewitched by the aristocratic families and clans, but many people don't know that they can complain at all. Or rather, they feel that the risk of complaining is too high and the benefits are too low.”
"What the Imperial Court wants to do is to let the people understand that Great Qin's aristocratic families and clans are just a bunch of fake tigers, and that His Majesty is the true dragon!”
"Once the commoners confirm that they can obtain more by relying on the imperial power, the control of the aristocratic families and clans over the commoners will be broken, and the imperial power will fall!”
"Once the imperial power has a stable foundation in the region, even if new aristocratic families and clans are born, the people who have the imperial power will have a way to resist. It won't be so easy to split the land and become marquises again!”
" The imperial power that couldn't do all of this, or rather, courted death, was abandoned by the people, or rather, the people's hearts. It was replaced by someone more capable of leading the people.”
"The imperial power is actually the power that allows the majority of the people to live their lives. If they subconsciously feel that they can be trusted, they can exist and have the right to distribute the resources to whoever they want!”
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